Sandy-inflicted damage is still apparent in homes near Beach 140th Street in the Rockaways. (April 4, 2013) (Credit: Anthony Lanzilote)

Recovering from superstorm Sandy's wrath six months ago has come with successes offset by frustrations for the hardest hit areas of New York City. Coney Island's iconic Cyclone has opened. Most of the South Street Seaport has not. Hundreds of homes are gone. Businesses remain boarded up. Thousands of residents still wait for federal aid or insurance payments. The Oct. 29 storm ravaged the South...

Parts of the neighborhood still lack power and data services, said Catherine McVey-Hughes, chairwoman of Manhattan's Community Board 1, which covers most of the downtown area, prompting a push in efforts to stormproof the area.

"We have to make sure that if a power plant goes out at 34th Street, power shouldn't go out in lower Manhattan," she said.

Sandy damaged parts of the iconic boardwalk and flooded or destroyed hundreds of businesses and homes.

The neighborhood has improved in the past six months, but much more work is needed, said Chuck Reichenthal, the district manager of Community Board 13.

"The unity that was created after the storm is still there, but we have to help people who haven't been able to finish their work," he said.

The Cyclone and Luna Park opened in March and the crowds have been huge, Reichenthal said. The beach will be open for visitors on Memorial Day weekend with new lifeguard stations and bathrooms, he added.

The Cyclones minor league baseball team will play its season at MCU Park.

"All of those are positive," he said.

But Coney Island is a long way from normal. Utility restoration still isn't complete.

"I can look outside and see one day Con Ed is back, KeySpan is back another day, Cablevision is back," said Reichenthal, a Coney Island resident. "It's a slow process."

Queens sustained $483 million in damage, the highest in the city, according to the Federal Emergency Management Administration, with most of it stretching across the borough's southern edge.

"You can see the stress on people's faces even today," said Dan Mundy, 74, a lifelong Broad Channel resident.

Jonathan L. Gaska, the district manager of Community Board 14, which covers the Rockaways, said the boardwalk will not be quickly restored and business owners are concerned about how that could affect summer sales.

"Last year we had the best summer we had in decades in terms of tourism. Now we're afraid they're going to be ghost towns," he said.

Mundy, who has been helping his neighbors with their repairs and renovations since October, said the community working together will help make the recovery efforts smoother.

"It's amazing what a human can endure, and they've been doing it for six months now," he said.